DADE CITY, Fla. — A jury in Florida state court on Feb. 20 awarded a family of a deceased smoker $15 million in punitive damages in an Engle progeny suit bringing the total award to $24 million in a suit where they claimed that smoking was the cause of a man’s lung cancer and death (Rosemarie Graffeo v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., No. 2016CA000233, Fla. Cir., 6th Jud., Pasco Co.) VIDEO FROM THE TRIAL IS AVAILABLE.

MIAMI — A panel of the Third District Florida Court of Appeal on Feb. 14 found that a trial court erred in dismissing an Engle progeny suit because the 90-day period to substitute a plaintiff had been extinguished when the plaintiff’s family filed a motion before an executor of the estate was named (Jerry Feller v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al., No. 3D16-2389, Fla. App., 3rd Dist., 2018 Fla. App. LEXIS 2160).

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A panel of the First District Florida Court of Appeals on Feb. 8 dismissed an Engle progeny suit because her attorneys did not have the legal authority to file and maintain a suit on behalf of a dead woman (Raymond Staines v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al., No. 1D16-2655, Fla. App., 1st Dist., 2018 Fla. App. LEXIS 1817).

ORANGE, Calif. — A man who was injured by a vaping device when it exploded in his face filed suit on Jan. 26 against the store that sold it to him, claiming that the store sold him a defective product (Gregory Gonta v. Tobacco Island, No. 2018-00969705, Calif. Super. Orange Co.).

MIAMI — A Florida jury on Feb. 6 awarded the surviving family members of a smoker who died from lung cancer $10 million in punitive damages, bringing the total amount of damages to $17.5 million (Kenneth Gloger v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al., No. 2011-CA-23377, Fla. 11th Jud. Cir. Miami-Dade Co.). VIDEO FROM THE TRIAL IS AVAILABLE.

ATLANTA — A former smoker who won a total of $26.5 million in an Engle progeny suit asked the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Feb. 2 to reinstate $20 million in punitive damages, saying the trial judge erred by revoking the damages (Judith Berger v. Philip Morris USA Inc., Nos. 15-15633, 16-10021, 16-15957, 11th Cir.).

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A Florida jury on Feb. 5 awarded the family of a former smoker $27 million in punitive damages in an Engle progeny suit, bringing the total amount of damages to $40.9 million (Dawn Schlefstein v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., No. 2008-CV-022558, Fla. 17th Jud. Cir. Broward Co.). VIDEO FROM THE TRIAL IS AVAILABLE.

ATLANTA — A panel of the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Jan. 25 found that a trial court did not err in an Engle progeny suit by denying a tobacco company’s motion to reduce compensatory damages to the widower of a woman who died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (James Smith Sr. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al., No. 13-14316, 11th Cir., 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 1916).

DELAND, Fla. — A jury in Florida on Jan. 24 found in favor of a tobacco company in an Engle progeny suit in which a woman claimed that her husband was addicted to cigarettes made by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and that his addiction was the cause of his oral cavity cancer and death (Dorothy Mae Kelsey v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., No. 2007 33215 CICI, Fla. 7th Jud. Cir., Volusia Co.). VIDEO FROM THE TRIAL IS AVAILABLE.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Supreme Court on Jan. 23 declined to review a tobacco suit in which a jury awarded a widower and his daughter $13.4 million in damages over the death of his wife (R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company v. Paul R. Larkin, et al., No. SC17-1712, Fla. Sup., 2018 Fla. LEXIS 133).

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A man who was injured after his vaporizer exploded while he was using it filed suit Jan. 5 in a New York state court against the store that sold the vaporizer to him, claiming that the store should have known the product was defective and that there was a possibility it could have exploded while he was using it (Owen Atkisson v. Village Vape Or Smoke Inc., No. E2018000130, N.Y. Sup. Monroe Co.).

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — In an unpublished opinion issued Jan. 23, a panel of the Third District Michigan Court of Appeals ordered that a suit over a tobacco manufacturing license being revoked be remanded to a lower court for further proceedings because there is a still a question over whether a manufacturer without a license can be on a list of manufacturers who did not make a settlement with the state (Grand River Enterprises Six Nations LTD. v. Department of Treasury, et al., No. 335170, Mich. App., 3rd Dist., 2018 Mich. App. LEXIS 168).

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A special master in an investigation to determine whether two law firms filed frivolous Engle progeny lawsuits told a panel of federal judges in Florida on Jan. 12 that the firms deserve the $9 million sanctions the panel imposed against them, calling the sanctions “modest” (In Re: Engle Cases, No. 3:09-cv-10000, M.D. Fla.).

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A Florida state court judge on Dec. 27 ordered R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. to continue to make payments to Florida under the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) for three brands of cigarettes it sold to ITG Brands until the Delaware Chancery Court, which oversees issues arising from the sale agreement, is able to work out the details regarding which company is responsible to payments to Florida for the brands (State of Florida, et al. v. American Tobacco Company, et al., No. 95-CA-1466, Fla. 15th Jud. Cir.., Palm Beach Co.).

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A tobacco company being sued for product liability in Florida state court on Jan. 5 removed the suit to Florida federal court because the plaintiff in the state Engle progeny suit also has a pending Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which under federal law is an asset of the bankruptcy estate (David Walters v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al., No. 3:18-CV-75, M.D. Fla.).